shoulder blade

noun

plural shoulder blades

: either of a pair of large, flat, triangular-shaped bones that lie above the rib cage on either side of the upper back : scapula

a fractured shoulder blade

He has a wing-shaped tribal tattoo between his shoulder blades.

—Cliff Mehrtens

… types who didn't wash and grew hair to their shoulder blades.

—Curtis W. Casewit

Examples of shoulder blade in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ju Woong, director of the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, where one of the survivors was hospitalized, said the man was being treated in an intensive care unit for fractures to his ribs, shoulder blade and upper spine. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 29 Dec. 2024

The living structure, a Pavona clavus or shoulder blade coral, measures 112 feet wide, 105 feet long and 18 feet tall—and is thought to be more than 300 years old. —Danielle Hall, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Dec. 2024

Follow the steps below: Lay on the ground and place a foam roller horizontally behind your back at the base of your shoulder blades. —Jakob Roze, Health, 17 Dec. 2024

Drawing your shoulder blades together and engaging your lats, pull your elbows back. —Alyssa Ages, Outside Online, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

shoulder blade

noun

: the flat triangular bone of the back of the shoulder that forms a joint with the humerus of the upper arm

called also scapula

Medical Definition

shoulder blade

noun

: scapula